Lionel Messi Increasingly Surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo. (Photo: Twitter/@RiyadhCup)

JAKARTA Lionel Messi has again set a new record to get past Cristiano Ronaldo. The record was set when he helped Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) beat Montpellier in France's Ligue 1 continuation.

The 2022 World Cup winner scored one goal as PSG secured a 3-1 victory over the hosts in the 21st week at Mosson Stadium, Thursday, February 2 in the morning WIB.

It was Messi's 697th goal at club level who played in Europe's top five leagues. The 35-year-old international is now one goal ahead of Ronaldo.

Before this match Messi had scored 696 goals or equal to Ronaldo. This note is also special for Messi because he is out in 84 matches less than the Portuguese superstar

This record is increasingly difficult for Ronaldo, who currently plays in Asia with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. To be able to catch La Pulga, Ronaldo inevitably has to come back and play in one of the top five leagues in Europe.

However, that opportunity now looks quite difficult as the majority of European clubs don't care about it anymore. During his career in Europe, Ronaldo scored a total of 450 goals for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, and 101 for Juventus.

The peak of Messi and Ronaldo's careers comes as they both spend nine seasons in La Liga, where Messi is noted to have strengthened Barcelona and Ronaldo wore the Real Madrid uniform.

Both of them total secured 76 major trophies (Messi 42, Ronaldo 34) during their careers in football. This record makes both names the players who won the most awards in football history.

An additional goal this morning made Messi have recorded a total of 14 goals for PSG in all competitions this season. The former Barcelona player also recorded the same number for assists.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo has yet to score with his new club. He failed to break into the opponent's goal when Al Nassr won 1-0 over Ettifaq and lost 0-3 to Al Ittihad in the Saudi Arabia Super Cup.